


Art Of The Deal

by MagpieMorality



Series: Fae Sides Prompts [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Deals, Fae Deceit, Flirting, M/M, Pre-Relationship, human remus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22837429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieMorality/pseuds/MagpieMorality
Summary: For this prompt:“Never insult the fair folk. Talk about them with respect, unless you’re just dying to be cursed.” + dukeceit!
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Series: Fae Sides Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646839
Comments: 62
Kudos: 221





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For this prompt:
> 
> “Never insult the fair folk. Talk about them with respect, unless you’re just dying to be cursed.” + dukeceit!

“Who’s there?!” Remus shouted, struggling against his spider-silk bonds. His head still throbbed from whatever powder it was that had knocked him out, and the forest around him looked… worryingly unfamiliar. “If you’re a damned _faerie_ then I won’t-”

“Never insult the fair folk. Talk about them with respect, unless you’re just dying to be cursed.” The voice near his ear made him jump and squeak a very high squeak. The voice chuckled, warm breath on his neck that moved as the figure walked around to stand in front of him where he was bound to the tree. “Don’t you humans learn _anything_ anymore?” 

The fair folk were accurately named, it had to be said. The fae that stood before Remus now was quite literally stunning, with beautiful long white hair that gleamed with gold thread woven through, and the most perfect face he’d ever seen. No thoughts were left in the human’s brain apart from ‘ _wow’._

The fae chuckled again, like molten gold over marble. Remus wanted to roll over and show his belly and pledge his undying servitude. That was only partially from the fae’s natural bewitching aura. Remus was, after all, very gay indeed. 

“I love you,” he said very seriously. The fae stared at him and then burst into giggles, stifling them with his hand. Remus pouted at that lacklustre reaction to his declaration, waiting until the fae had calmed down somewhat to snark again. “Well you didn’t have to be _rude_ about it. I know I may not be the catch you were imagining, but I’m very eligible. I had all my own teeth and I can lift a whole cider barrel by myself, I’ll have you know!” He tried to puff his chest out proudly but the spider-silk held fast and he ended up just wheezing helplessly. 

The fae looked curious, tapping one long, artistic finger against his tapered jaw. “A whole barrel, you say?” He murmured, a spark in his eyes that Remus wasn’t sure about. Was he playing along, amused by the idea and toying with his catch, or genuinely intrigued? Actually, why had he bothered catching Remus at all? Wasn’t that against the rules?

“Yeah. Um, I didn’t step in a ring. So uh, why am I all…” 

“Tied up?” Remus nodded. “Well, that would be on account of you setting traps in my part of the woods. It’s only fair I should do the same. Just desserts, I believe you often say?” 

Oh, right. “Woops?” Remus grinned sheepishly. To his good fortune the fae didn’t look overly annoyed when he rolled his eyes, although you could never tell. “I don’t suppose you’d consider an apology enough of a payment in kind?” 

“An apology is a useful thing indeed. But no. I would rather leave you here until you either die or get found and released. What an exciting risk…” 

“Uh, or don’t do that? Set me free and I will…” this was the worst idea in the history of ideas, Remus. “I’ll owe you a favour. One single favour.” 

The fae lit up. No literally lit up. He glowed, his eyes sparkling with reflected light from a source that didn’t exist. “A favour?! Freely given by a man caught in my trap. Well, well, well. You really are getting more stupid as a species. Fascinating.”

Remus opened his mouth to protest, but he had just proven that to be unfortunately true. Hurtful, but fair enough. 

“Very well, human. I accept. I will release you and you will owe me one favour, to be collected at a time of my choosing. I will, naturally, decide what that consists of.” He moved closer to cut the silk with a sharp knife. Remus took the presented opportunity to sniff his shiny hair. Sunshine and meadows, beautiful of course. 

The fae gave him an exasperated look but didn’t comment, standing back once he was freed and holding a hand out instead. 

And when Remus took it and shook it, it was hard to tell whose grin was the more excited. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this prompt:
> 
> what if you wrote more fae stuff? I don't have a prompt, I just want to be gay for fae.

For a while Remus forgot about his deal. He went home, removing all the traps in the Fae’s part of the woods on the way and went about his usual business. Summer bloomed hot and dry, and he fought the urge to go deeper into the forest for game, trying to warn as many of the other villagers off as possible. But in times of need desperate measures must be taken, and one night Remus was awoken by a cry for help. 

Not one that sounded out loud; no. One that tugged at his insides and drew him swiftly out of bed and outside into the darkness, racing into the forest with little regard for where or how far he was going. He managed not to trip- either a minor miracle or more magic at play- and found himself approaching a clearing that glowed with a soft source of light, obscured by the bushes until he climbed right through them and out into the opening. 

There lay his Fae, panting and glistening with a sheen of sweat most likely from the pain. He was grimacing, long, sharp fingers digging into the dry earth as he whimpered. He looked up at Remus with hazy eyes, reaching out for him and Remus went immediately over to cradle his head gently and examine the iron drop trap that had claimed his foot. It was no doubt the iron doing the damage, rather than the trap itself, and Remus winced at the angry red of the skin closest to the metal. 

“My favour, I claim it-” 

“No, no favour. I’ll do this one free of charge,” Remus interrupted him quickly, shuffling to tug at the pins that held the clamps shut until the whole thing fell apart, releasing the Fae’s leg at last. 

He moaned, drawing it up close and wrapping his luminscent hands around the wounded parts, trembling lightly, but enough to making his hair shift despite the lack of wind and give himself away. “Thank you,” the Fae said quietly. “But you should have offered it as what you owed. Now I-” he stopped, looking irritated. “Now I owe _you_ as well, when we could have been done with this whole business in one.”

Remus grinned. “Why would I want to give you a reason to get away from me, my charming firefly? That wouldn’t do at all!”

The night was warm enough for the man to sit next to the Fae in just his nightclothes and boots without complaint, silently holding vigil as the Fae’s glow slowly settled down and his leg healed at a rate that made Remus a little jealous. “You should go home, get some rest,” the Fae murmured a little while on. “I’m sorry I pulled you from bed.”

“It was my pleasure to rescue you, Firefly. I had hoped to see you again, although I’ll admit I imagined it under better circumstances...” The wiggling of his eyebrows made the Fae giggle, watching the human with curious eyes. He tossed his head and that gorgeous hair waterfalled down over his shoulder. Remus fought the urge to groan at the sight, or bow down and worship at his feet. “Will you be alright? Not your foot, I mean the season. I can’t stop everyone from trapping this far out- the food is too scarce and the Fall is nowhere in sight. Will you be able to hide?”

The Fae hesitated, and Remus wondered how old he was because the brief flicker of uncertain fear spoke of a youthfulness of some kind, relative to whatever youth Fae actually had. “I think I will. The rains aren’t so far off as you’d think, I can promise that. Until then...” He shrugged helplessly. 

Their eyes caught. “Until then you may call on me, Firefly, if you need to. My barn is unwarded if you need a sanctuary.” 

“Unwarded? Oh you foolish, stupid human that’s a _terrible_ -”

“It’s what I wish. And it’s my barn to ward or not, my moonlit beauty. The offer is there, regardless of how you may feel about it.” Remus told him firmly, softening the words with a lopsided grin, and reaching out to help the Fae up onto his healed feet. He refused to immediately let go of those soft, clever hands, keeping the Fae close. “Call on me. I will come,” he promised quietly. The Fae shook his head with a soft snort at the offer. 

“You mess with magics you don’t understand, human. But I- hear you.” Another hesitation, as though the Fae wanted to say something more, but then there was a light brush of lips over Remus’s cheek and as he closed his eyes the hands vanished from his and the Fae slipped away into the night. 

“Could’ve at least left me with a light!” Remus laughed, groaning dramatically as he started slowly back in the direction he’d come. In the stillness he heard the same tinkling giggle as before, and the pathway lit up with fireflies, guiding him home. He snorted and shook his head. “I’ll see you soon, Firefly.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From this prompt: 
> 
> Sooooo, how does Dee pay off his debt to Remus? He said he owes him now, and I’m curious.

“You have got to accept it this time!” The Fae pleads desperately, shaking the shining golden crown in Remus’s direction. Remus just grins, back turned to the Fae so he can’t see as he shakes his head, tapping the spile into the trunk and setting the bucket into place to collect the sweet sap that starts to ooze out. “It’s solid gold! It’s an ancient relic from a glorious past!”

“Is it worth your life though?” Remus asks mildly, dodging the crown as it’s flung towards his head. He bursts into a delighted cackle, stepping up close to the fiery Fae and using the momentum of a furiously thrown punch to spin his paramour around and trap him back against his chest. The Fae could break free easily, they both know that, but he just lifts his chin and keeps on scowling. “Or mine, for that matter? What’s to stop you claiming your favour from me the moment I no longer have yours for protection Firefly?” 

The Fae bares sharp teeth as he tries to kiss him on the cheek and Remus lets him free with a bright bark of laughter. “I _will find a way, mortal_.” It’s a threat and it makes Remus stop in his tracks. He puts down the pack of tools he’d been gathering and faces the angry creature, meeting his hot gaze evenly, the familiar glint of teasing in his eyes. 

“Somehow I doubt that. Foolish of a Fae really, to agree to owe a favour without attaching any strings. Almost as foolish as, oh, a man that might happen to do the same...” Remus barely manages not to flinch when those sharp teeth snap, suddenly very close to his face. But he holds his nerve for the long seconds, wondering if this is when his Fae is going to snap and do away with him, and hang the consequences of the magics that bind them. 

Today is not the day, however, and the Fae just makes a loud, wordless scream of frustration and whirls to stomp away. 

“See you soon Firefly!” Remus shouts after him as always, whistling a jaunty tune to himself as he sets off in the opposite direction. He has absolutely no intention of ending this game between them, not when it guarantees him such frequent delights of the Fae’s company and the easy, bright back and forth between them. Not when he pines, night after night, dreaming of a sweet, hard-won kiss and the smooth silk of hair under his fingers, perhaps even a soft smile that he would know was his and his alone. 

Now _that_ would be worth far more what the Fae owes, but Remus would never ask for it. Not under the chains of a magic that his Fae is right; he doesn’t truly understand. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this prompt:
> 
> I’m Gay and like the Fae, so... if you wouldn’t mind, would you be able to write more for the owing me owing you au? I just love it so much :0

It’s wildly stupid to argue with a Fae. They speak in riddles, in rhymes and circles and they have a real penchant for tricking you into things you don’t want to agree to. You have to be on your toes, cool and collected, thinking quickly. 

Ready to lose it all... 

So basically Remus was just an idiot. The Fae he was arguing with seemed to think so too, but Remus had a handy trump card that few ever did; this Fae owed _him_ a favour. 

“You are the most _infuriating individual_ I have _ever met_!” Firefly shrieked, throwing his hands up in lieu of hitting Remus in the face or eating him or something. Remus wasn’t sure exactly what fate he was playing with but it was probably horrible and messy. Firefly’s teeth were bared in his direction and his eyes were alight- no _literally alight_ \- with fury. And all because Remus wouldn’t accept his little gift. 

If you could call a mountain of gold and jewels a little gift, that was. “It’s ridiculous! You’re telling me this is worth a life?! What would I even do with it? C’mon glowbug-”

“ _Don’t_ , call me that,” Firefly snapped. “One insipid nickname is more than enough from you, _human_.” Hurtful. 

“I thought you liked Firefly,” Remus muttered sulkily, tossing a sapphire up and catching it casually like it was just an apple rather than a gem the side of one. “But fine,” he continued when the Fae just growled. “No more nicknames. But you seriously thought I’d take _this_ as a repayment?” 

Firefly made a strangled sound that seemed like maybe he was mocking Remus in some unknown language, before he threw himself dramatically to the floor and sprawled on his back, glaring at the sunshine that filtered through the leaves. It was weak, winter sun but it had apparently offended him enough to look at it with murder written all over his face. “I suppose not. You are uncommonly hard to repay...” The Fae sighed. Remus took the compliment hidden away in the words and sat down beside him, reaching for a nearby ruby and holding it up next to Firefly’s lips to compare the depth of colour. 

“What are you doing?” 

As he’d suspected, the gem paled in comparison. “Just a little experiment, that’s all. Look, I’m not gonna take just any old _stuff_ from you for my favour. I doubt if I showed up with a pile of gold that you’d take it for yours either, and don’t even both trying to deny it. You won’t fool anyone.” 

Firefly bared his teeth again but Remus was so used to the vague threat that he just found himself thinking about what it might be like to kiss someone with canines that sharp... “Well what _do_ you want then? What will it take to be rid of you at last?” There was a pause and then, “human?” The Fae frowned when Remus stood up and moved away, chucking the gems back onto the gleaming pile. “What now? Are you going to sulk again?”

“Do you really want rid of me that badly, Firefly?” Firefly kept frowning, pushing up to lean back on his hands, tilting his head at Remus. “Because if so I-” Gods was he really doing this? It was a hell of a risk to bluff a Faerie but Remus knew Firefly by now and he was, as ever, just an idiot. “I will release you from your favour, right here; right now. If you really want that.” He turned around and faced the Fae, raising an eyebrow. 

The way Firefly emoted was fascinating to watch. He had to be a rare case; no one ever spoke about the Fae as being easy to read, but Firefly absolutely was. At least to Remus. His face twisted, fighting twin urges to take the offer and be free of the favour, denying the truth that he was enjoying the situation as much as Remus was; and to keep the favour tying them equally together. Keeping them meeting like this, with increasing frequency, like two stars orbiting closer and closer until they met in the middle. 

Gods Remus wanted them to meet in the middle. 

Eventually the Fae slumped, unable to deny the truth. “No,” he muttered, resigned to honesty. “Don’t.” 

“And why ever not?” Remus probed, emboldened by this small success. “Surely it can’t be fun living in this permanent state of uncertainty, trying to please me.” 

“No, it is decidedly not. But that’s just how it is. And how it will remain until you give in,” Firefly replied, standing up and walking slowly towards him. “As long as _you’re_ not going back on your decision to disregard saving my life as fulfilling your own favour, of course.” 

Remus swallowed. Oh how quickly the tables could be turned. “Um. Why, of course not. Honestly I’d be-” oh the Fae was very close now. Back up, back up. “Be _ha-ah_ ,” Very, very, very close and oh-so-pretty- “Happy, _happy_! I’d be happy to be in your debt for as long as it takes.” His back hit a tree and Firefly smiled slowly at him from barely an inch or two away, a predator regarding his prey. Remus wanted to feel that look _forever_. “How about that?” 

“I can outlast you, human,” Firefly murmured, looking over his face with those clever blue eyes. 

“Is that a threat, Firefly?” 

“No; it’s a _promise_.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this prompt:
> 
> Gay magic chicken, forever??? OH NO!!! Hope they figure it out soon!

At some point things have to change, don’t they? They can’t just stay the same _forever_ , right?

Well it could come pretty close. Remus was actually starting to worry that he _wouldn’t_ outlast his Fae because the darn tricky creature had a stubbornness to rival even his own human brand of iron will. But what is six months to a Fae? Not so much perhaps. Firefly certainly seemed to be enjoying himself no less than when they’d started, and if Remus’s patience was starting to wear thin then Firefly’s was seemingly endless. 

Winter had passed, spring had come and gone and summer was back. And where had they got? Nowhere. No damn where at all. Remus was going to perish from pining at some stage. Firefly would probably just toss his gorgeous head and sigh in disappointment, give one of his fey, teasing smiles and vanish again with a twinkle of an eye. 

The thing Remus dreamed of most was just a simple kiss, now. He’d outgrown the initial wild desire- cooled but still present under the surface- and had passed into the realm of aching longing and deep fondness. Maybe a little bit of melancholy, because the chances of anything changing now after so long seemed infinitely small. But the game still went on. 

“There aren’t even any dragons left,” he sighed one day as Firefly went on listing the various magical items he could potentially acquire, trying (but not especially hard) to find one to pique Remus’s interest. Remus was just... tired. Summer was always full of long, gruelling days, and this year was no different. Give him a crisp winter anyday; at least then all the work was done, all that was left was to enjoy the fruits of your own labour. This labour he was currently undertaking, as it happened. 

“You’re just not looking in the right places. They’ve shrunk considerably,” Firefly retorted, inspecting his fingernails and clawing the tree stump he was sitting on to keep them sharp and shiny, making no move to help as Remus swung the axe again and again to make a start on his latest logpile. “And they’re not as shiny anymore.” 

Remus snorted, wiping the sweat from his brow and huffing from exertion. His back hurt. His feet hurt. His hands hurt. _His heart hurt_. “That’s nice dear. I suppose nothing is especially shiny compared to you anyway.” 

Firefly preened on his perch, pulling his hair forwards over his shoulder to comb through it carefully, picking out the bits of nature that always gravitated towards it and plucking at some fine gold thread braids that were coming loose from the shining white strands. “Well, you’re not wrong. So how about it then? One dragon heart, in return for-”

“I release you.” 

“... What?” 

Remus straightened up, sighing and throwing his axe down in defeat. “I release you from your favour- consider it more than fulfilled. No more being beholden to me. And keep mine, if you still want it. I-” he groaned quietly, rubbing his dirty hands over his face. “I can’t play anymore. You win.” 

There was an utter and total lack of sound that resonated louder than any silence should. He couldn’t begin to imagine the look on Firefly’s face so he looked up to check, and found himself, for the first time in a long time; 

Alone in the forest. 


	6. Chapter 6

Run, run away, far from the words, far away from the sombre figure of the man that said them, far away from the sunshine and smile and solidity of him, far from the shine of sweat and simple, honest work. Far from his unbearable, cloying defeat.

_“I release you from your favour.“_

Some kind of bell seems to ring in his ears as he runs away, flitting through the trees like the beams of sunlight that slip through the thick leaves and down to the ground. His feet flash over the warm dirt, avoiding foxholes and clumps of delicate flowers with a grace that makes it look like he’s flying, when really he’s _fleeing_. 

_“No more being beholden to me.”_

The bell rings and rings and the man’s words ring with it and oh, perhaps it’s just the deafening pounding of his frantic heart. But why? Why is he feeling like this? He got what he wanted all along! No more favours owed, freedom from the binding of the human’s gesture, safe to covet what he in turn is owed instead and draw it from the man ruthlessly like the Faerie he is (supposed to be). 

_“I can’t play anymore.“_

It, does it hurt? Is this what hurt is? Turn it to anger, snap and snarl and rage through the forest, scare the birds and beasts and howl at the canopy until there’s nothing left. There is nothing left. No more being beholden, no more binding, just the thin thread of a deal made that merely waits instead of binding, pushing him away with its weakness. He doesn’t want it now, not when it claws so covetously at his human but nothing claws back. He may not be beholden to a favour owed but he also feels… 

_“You win.”_

He doesn’t feel much like he’s won. He feels untethered, unmoored, perhaps even unwanted. Did the human intend that? Or had he simply tired of their game, impatient as so many of them are, desires unfulfilled. Why would he just _release_ him, without taking what he wanted?! Humans always take what they want, what they feel they’re owed, from the land and sky and sea without hesitation! So why then had _his_ human set him free with no more than a few words? 

His chest stings with the force of his panting, until he sits and gathers his control again. Find the anger, find the pride. Hurt has no place in his heart when spite can get so much more done. How dare the human cast him aside so easily?! How dare he simply release him with no care for the weight of the magic they’d been chained together by?! He will pay, for that, and for thinking in his foolish human way could ever be rid of a Fae whom he owes. 

“I will take what I am owed then, idiot human,” he growls under his breath, trying to find the core of disgust he should have for mortals and pretending it’s there when he searches. “I will have my favour.”


	7. Chapter 7

Firefly showed up at his house at night three days later, during a storm. He looked wild, hair windswept and tangled around his face, his eyes lit from within with that same familiar glow. 

Perhaps not quite the same, when it came with the fiercest scowl Remus had ever seen on his Fae, the darkness and shadows highlighting the sharpness of his teeth and the gleam of otherworldliness that saturated every inch of him. “You came back,” was all Remus could think to say, choking on the relief. “I thought you wouldn’t but here you are.”

“Much to your misfortune, I assure you,” Firefly replied, pacing the floor by the bed as Remus slowly got up and pulled a shirt on. When he was somewhat dressed the Fae turned on his heel, leading him downstairs without a word and out into the driving, warm rain, towards the forest. Remus had to fling an arm up just to be able to squint into the wind and see, hurrying after Firefly without even stopping to put on shoes, his thin cotton shirt and pants sodden in moments. But he followed. 

“Where are we going?!” He shouted over a crash of thunder, flinching when lightning arced through the sky again soon after and another boom swiftly followed. “Firefly _please_ , it’s dangerous out here!” 

The Fae turned to look at him over his shoulder for a moment, shining bright in the darkness like a beacon, a feral smile on his face. “Only for you, foolish mortal.” 

“Firefly!” Remus felt his heart beat as confusion threatened to turn to fear. But he fought against it- this was his Fae. He “Are you trying to get me killed?!”

Laughter made its way back towards him, carried on the wind, and then the Fae vanished into the treeline and Remus couldn’t see a thing anymore, stumbling into a tree almost as soon as he reached them. “Why would I want that when you owe me, human?” Firefly’s voice came from nearby, and Remus turned quickly to find him but he was already gone. 

“Is that what this is about? And here I thought you’d missed me!” 

“Don’t-” Firefly was all of a sudden right in front of him, glaring hotly through the rain. “Make your stupid jokes now. I have come to claim what I want from you, and be done with this whole business. Why would I care about a stupid human?!”

Remus laughed despite his heart starting to tighten unpleasantly. “Beats me, but you do. So go on then, what is it you want?” He waited, hugging himself tightly against the elements and hoping he could go home soon. “If not my life, then what?”

“I never said I didn’t want your life. But luckily for you I’ll just settle for the next best thing; a promise.” 

“What, another one?” 

Firefly gripped his chin and leaned in close. “Another one. A promise to forget me, to never again see, touch or hear me even if I stand right in front of you. A promise to let me take myself from your memories and mind and senses and be rid of you!”

Remus looked back evenly as his heart finished its tightening and turned to lead, and- as best he could considering the firm grip the Fae had on him- he squared his shoulders bravely. “I won’t make that promise. I can’t.”

“You must! It’s what I demand, as my payment!” 

“Ask for something else, _anything else_!” Firefly threw himself angrily away with a wordless cry, standing a few feet from Remus with his back turned, lit by the frequent flashes of lightning that came from above and the glow he so often glowed from within. He was so terribly beautiful, and angry, and Remus was willing to bet _hurt_ as well. Uncommonly emotional, no changes there, but what he asked for was beyond unreasonable and Remus was selfish enough to say no. “I would rather you took my heart from my chest right here and now than asked me to give you up willingly. I would have nothing to live for and no knowledge of why my life was so empty. You might as well ask me to die for you!”

“You don’t know what you’re saying-”

“I do! I love you, Firefly, my own Firefly. I had you for this past year and it was glorious, but it wasn’t enough! It could never be enough to have you only because you were forced to be there at my side. It hurt to listen to you talk of ways to escape me day after day, when all I wanted from you was perhaps, a kiss.” His legs shook as he slowly climbed to his feet, drinking in the tense set of those sharp shoulders, the ever-hypnotic dance of Firefly’s hair in the wild wind. Remus wished he could see his face. “Forgetting you would do nothing to change that. It would only make it so this ache I feel has no source. You’re asking me to give up my reason, my happiness. I can’t do that!”

“You can’t love me,” the Fae said, and despite how quiet the words were Remus heard them perfectly over the storm. He stepped closed, boldly daring to put a hand on Firefly’s shoulder and turn his Fae around to face him, swallowing at the unreadable expression on his face. “You can’t.”

Remus cupped his face tenderly, ignoring his own trembling hands and writing them off as merely shivers from the cold, rather than face what the actual cause might be. That could wait- everything else could _wait_. “How could I do anything else? My Firefly, with your temper and your wit, your beauty and your fire, and your sweetness too- though you think you hide it well. How could I not love you?” He pressed his forehead to Firefly’s and the Fae reached up to hold onto the man’s wrists, looking at him with wide eyes. Another flash of lightning and peal of thunder made Remus flinch again instinctively, and Firefly couldn’t help but smile a little. 

But it didn’t last and the Fae sighed, looking down. “You shouldn’t, even if you believe you do. I am not mortal, and you are, and-” His eyes flickered back up, gleaming bright with a sudden idea. “ _My_ _favour_. You said no, so I still have it...” 

“What would you ask of me?” Remus murmured, brushing his thumb over those high cheekbones, feeling the faint flutter of the tip of a few eyelashes on the way past. Intoxicating, like everything about his Fae was. “Would you ask me to stay yours forever? To give you my years, as long as they last? There is no end to what I feel for you, I promise that freely.”

“You and your reckless words...” The smile was back and Remus soaked it up with pride. “I would ask you to consider your favour more than fulfilled,” Firefly whispered. The storm seemed to die away, all of Remus’s senses taken up by his Fae. “I would like to release you from your favour, and I would like to ask you to come with me, when you are ready, allow me to steal you away from the world and have you to myself, give myself to you, elsewhere where time can’t touch a hair on your head.” 

Remus’s breath caught. “Are you sure?”

“How could I not be?” Firefly smiled around the stolen words. “With your joy and gentleness, your beauty and your passion, and your love for me? I love you too, my foolish, idiot human. I love you.”

A kiss sealed the deal, under the cloud-covered stars. Remus forgot to feel cold and wet, and felt only Firefly, and Firefly breathed no air that didn’t come from his human’s lips. 

* * *

It took Remus only a few days to be ready to leave. His house was packed up, left to a distant cousin should it be wanted, and his belongings were sorted and mostly sold. Firefly had promised he would want for nothing in the next place and what need did Remus have for vague trinkets when the greatest gift he’d ever received walked beside him, tugging on his hand to keep him moving, hasty with enthusiasm. 

Remus grinned, speeding up his steps and stopped the Fae so he could reel him in and steal a swift kiss. He took a moment to breathe in the forest air and look back just the once before they continued, footsteps fading as they walked from one land to the next, disappearing into the distance and leaving only the the soft echo of laughter behind them. 

Maybe one day they would come back that way, back to the land where they’d met, but it wouldn’t be any day soon. 


End file.
